During his unusual speech about his Mormon religion today, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney failed to mention the significance of the Angel Moroni within his faith. He did mention the Christian son of God.

“I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind,” Romney said. “We should acknowledge the creator…”

According to historical and religious texts, the Angel Moroni is an angel that a man named Joseph Smith Jr. said visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 23, 1823. The angel, it is said, was the guardian of the golden plates, which Smith said were buried in a hill near his home in western New York, and which he said were the source material for the Book of Mormon. Others beside Smith said they saw Moroni in later visions.

Why Romney did not mention the Angel Moroni is unknown. He did say that he strongly believes in his Mormon faith, and thus his belief in the Angel Moroni must be so. Today, the Angel Moroni has become a crucial figure in the Latter Day Saint religion, and is featured prominently in Mormon architecture and art.

“Moroni is said to be the same person as a Book of Mormon prophet-warrior named Moroni, who was the last to write in the golden plates,” according to Wikipedia. “The book says that Moroni buried them before he died after a great battle between two pre-Columbian civilizations. After he died, he was resurrected, became an angel, and was tasked with guarding the golden plates, and with eventually directing Joseph Smith to their location in the 1820s. According to Latter Day Saint movement theology, Moroni still has the plates and several other Book of Mormon artifacts in his possession.”